Page 28 of Alfie

“Mate,” Myla said.

“Yes,” Joss said. “I’m a wolf like Alfie and Jeanie is my mate. Just like you’re Alfie’s. You might want to watch, hon. You don’t want to miss it.”

“You’re all nuts,” she said.

But something strange rolled in her gut as she stared at Jeanie with her back to Alfie with Joss’s arm protectively around her shoulders. Something ancient and predatory.

Myla turned her head slowly to look at Alfie, who was standing in the shed, naked as a jaybird.

Wait. Were jaybirds naked?

“This has gone on long enough,” she said, her voice wavering as uncertainty filled her.

“Just watch, sweetheart,” he said. “And remember, I’m still me. Just furry.”

He stared intently at her and not a freaking thing happened.

Until everything happened.

His skin rippled, his eyes going bright amber like she’d seen happen when he was emotional. The scent of the forest at night grew stronger, and what she’d attributed to him wearing cologne was clearly somehow actually coming from him. His lips parted and fangs elongated, his nails turned dark, and his whole body bulked up with muscles. Fur sprouted over his skin, and he rolled down to his knees, a growl rumbling in his chest as his body turned from human to wolf.

To freaking-holy-crap wolf.

Her lungs constricted at the sight and she couldn’t breathe. Her vision tunneled and her skin went hot.

What the actual hell had she just…it wasn’t possible!

Her vision went wonky, bright lights flashing and her body swaying.

This was it. She was actually going to pass out!

“Hey,” Jeanie said, patting her cheeks and holding her steady. “It’s okay. I swear, it’s okay. It’s a lot—trust me, I know—but Alfie is still Alfie, and you’re safe. Breathe, dang it. Joss! She’s not breathing.”

Alfie, all furry and wolfy, moved forward and bumped her knee. Something snapped in place in her head and the strange feelings, the overwhelm, disappeared.

She gasped in a loud breath and pressed her hand to her chest.

“What the crap!”

Jeanie chuckled and moved back into Joss’s arms. “He’s a shifter. And you’re his soulmate. That means fate brought you two together because you were made for each other. There is nothing better than being a shifter’s soulmate. I’m human and Joss is my soulmate. He’s also the pack alpha.”

She couldn’t take her eyes off Alfie. He was sitting on his haunches after giving her the knee-bump, staring at her intently with bright amber eyes. She could feel the connection to him. It was really him.

“This is crazy,” Myla said. “Can I…touch him?”

“He’s your mate,” Jeanie said. “It would be weird if you didn’t.”

She lowered herself to the wood floor and reached her hand out, brushing her fingers lightly into his thick fur. He was genuinely a handsome wolf, with grays, browns, and shades of white intermixed. As her hand settled on the back of his neck, her fingers deep in the soft fur, she realized she’d had glimpses of his wolf since they’d met. His eyes changing color so fast she was sure she’d imagined it, the soft growling, the strength he emanated. How fast he was.

How she had fallen for him right from the moment they met, and how even though it felt fast, it felt supremely right too.

She rested her head against his as tears pricked her eyes. Shifters were real, and it was a secret kept from humans. Now that she knew, what did that mean for her?

“What happens now?” she asked, turning her head slightly to look at the couple nearby.

“He’s stuck as a wolf for a few hours,” Joss said. “He most likely wants to walk around the paddock. I can give you a flashlight so you can light your way around with him. Other than that, are you asking what happens to you?”

“Yeah.” Although the question seemed ominous on the surface, she didn’t feel threatened. She’d been gifted with a truth that the general public didn’t know.